Had a old timer teach me G-code on a 1980s Mori Seiki back in 2014

I was running a night shift at a shop outside Toledo, mostly pushing buttons and loading parts. One Friday, the lead programmer came over and asked if I knew how to hand write a helical interpolation. I said no, and he just pointed at a worn-out Mori Seiki SL-3 and said 'learn on that one first.' He spent 45 minutes showing me how to punch code on the old tape reader panel, not a screen in sight. That conversation made me realize how much I relied on software without understanding the basics. I still use some of his shortcuts today on our newer Haas machines. Has anyone else had a moment where an old school guy changed how you think about code?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_oscar8d ago

That old tape reader panel is the real key here. Modern control software hides so many of the logic layers that guys like that had to work through manually. Understanding what every single G-code actually does is way more valuable than just memorizing a CAM post.

rileyl988d ago

Manual G-code got me out of a jam more than once on old machines.